Top U.S. commander in Afghanistan: War not lost cause

Washington • The top American commander in Afghanistan told lawmakers Tuesday that the war is not a lost cause and underscored his optimism with a story about his son, an Army sergeant preparing for his third deployment to the war-torn country.

In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Army Gen. John F. Campbell said the last time he saw John Jr. was in August 2014 in Jalalabad, a city near the Pakistan border. He spoke to him a few days ago.

"If I thought it wasn't worth it, I'd tell my own son, 'You need to do something different,'" Campbell said.

Afghanistan is at turning point and the coming year may be no better, and possibly worse, than the last unless the fragile government in Kabul holds firm and the nation's security forces improve, Campbell said. He urged skeptical lawmakers to keep backing the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, now entering its 15th year.

"We need to provide the Afghans the time and space for them to continue to build their resiliency," Campbell said.

Campbell's testimony comes as lawmakers are growing skeptical that worsening security conditions demand a greater number of U.S. forces. But there is also ample frustration that the finish line still is not visible for a war that began in 2001.

"How many $4.1 billion times are we going to do this before we can figure out that we can get out?" asked Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., referring to the amount the U.S. committed in 2015 to support Afghan security forces. Since 2002, the U.S. has allotted nearly $64 billion to build up the country's army and police.

Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., seconded Sanchez's frustration. The American people are "sick and tired" of being perpetually told that progress is being made in Afghanistan. Yet the war continues. "This has just got to come to an end," he said.

Campbell estimated it will be 2024 before the Afghan economy generates enough revenue to make the country self-sufficient.

President Barack Obama plans to cut U.S. troops numbers from the 9,800 to 5,500 before he leaves office. Obama backtracked from his initial plan to reduce the force to 1,000 by the end of 2016.